


Suspension of Disbelief

by dragonfire1603



Series: Shadowbound verse [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bondage, Dom/sub, Light Praise Kink, M/M, Mirror Sex, Orgasm Delay, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Shibari, Soft boys are soft, Supernatural Elements, Suspension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 13:36:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21477250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonfire1603/pseuds/dragonfire1603
Summary: It had been an offhand comment that had lead them here. Matt couldn’t even remember what had instigated that particular conversation but at some point Taliesin had let slip that he thought that Matt would look stunning with ropes running across his skin.
Relationships: Taliesin Jaffe/Matthew Mercer
Series: Shadowbound verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1383247
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	Suspension of Disbelief

**Author's Note:**

> The usual RPF rules apply: Do not share this with anyone who does not want to see this, especially not the cast.
> 
> This story is set in my Shadowbound ‘verse. I’d recommend reading the first part but it’s not required, just be aware that Taliesin is not… entirely human. There's no plot going on here whatsoever, so for the purposes of the main story, this is entirely skippable.
> 
> This was supposed to be in the first part of Shadowbound and actually one of the first scenes that I wrote, since this is what inspired the whole thing (and the title; I'm actually kinda mad that I can't just call this "Shadowbound" too now). 
> 
> Kind of ironic that I had to take this out in the end because it didn’t fit anymore.
> 
> The standard RPF rules apply: Please don't share this story with people who don't want to see it and especially not with the people it's about.

It had been an offhand comment that had lead them here. Matt couldn’t even remember what had instigated that particular conversation but at some point Taliesin had let slip that he thought that Matt would look stunning with ropes running across his skin.

Matt’s brain had short circuited for a second and it had taken Taliesin a few moments to notice before he stopped talking, instead raising a curious eyebrow at him.

Matt had awkwardly cleared his throat before speaking.

“Can you… Is that something you can do?”

Taliesin’s eyes had lit up at the question, leaning closer to Matt as he started to explain all the different kinds of patterns he could do, the differences between them and how a body would look and react in it. Turns out that with Taliesin being multiple centuries old he had witnessed the emergence of the practice of aesthetic bondage in Japan first hand and had studied it extensively at the time. Matt had been impressed but not exactly surprised and had reaffirmed his interest in giving it a try at some point.

This eventually lead to where they were now; Matt kneeling on their bed, completely naked, looking up at Taliesin with a slightly nervous expression.

“Calm down, kitten,” Taliesin said with a reassuring smile. “Shibari is an art form that can be a wonderfully sensual and relaxing experience. I’ll do a pattern primarily designed for comfort for you. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

He leaned down to brush a kiss against Matt’s lips and Matt could feel himself relax into the familiar taste and smell of him.

Taliesin pulled back after a few moments, considering Matt with a contemplative gaze before seemingly reaching a conclusion.

"Hold your arms like that,” he said, pulling his hands behind his back and crossing them there. He held onto his forearms and turned around to show this position to Matt.

While Matt followed his instructions, Taliesin moved next to him. His eye color shifted to purple as he began lightly tracing a finger down Matt’s arm. Where he touched, a rope of purple darkness appeared, settling itself against Matt’s skin.

“Oh, you’re not using actual rope?” Matt asked as he felt the familiar sensation on his arm.

“I could do, if you’d prefer that,” Taliesin said, stopping his movements to look at Matt. “But I have better control over where the bindings come to rest, I can feel immediately if something is too tight and there are no actual knots involved like this, so fewer risks all around. And in case something goes wrong I can make them disappear instantly. Or you can,” he added with a pointed look towards the band clasped around Matt’s wrist. 

“Yeah, no, sounds good. I was just momentarily surprised. I shouldn’t have been, really,” Matt said with a teasing smile.

“I like my powers,” Taliesin shrugged. “And I like it when I can use them on you,” he said with a smile of his own. “Try to relax, this will take a while,” he added, as he went back to conjuring strings of purple to lay across Matt’s skin.

Matt took his advice, closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles, settling more comfortably in his position. Taliesin worked in silence, first binding his lower arms together, then slowly making his way up toward Matt’s shoulders, all the while creating a web of intricate patterns across Matt’s skin.

Once he was done with that he moved to his front, drawing the magical rope from his sternum upwards, to come to rest around the back of his neck before extending it downward again and starting to coil it around his chest, beginning to form three distinct diamond shapes in the center of his chest.

Taliesin continued to work slowly but with skillful precision, occasionally moving around him for better access or adjusting Matt’s posture with gentle hands. The light touches of his hands and the feeling of the rope coiling around his limbs were entrancing and Matt quickly felt his mind drifting, his body becoming more relaxed and pliant with each loop. Even though the embrace of the bindings was restricting it also felt oddly safe in a way Matt hadn’t expected. He quickly lost all sense of time and place, the web of magical rope and Taliesin’s hands the only thing tethering him to reality. 

At some point Matt noticed Taliesin’s voice echoing indistinctly through the fog in his mind, unable to make out the words. A finger was placed under his chin and his head gently lifted up. Matt opened his eyes and found Taliesin looking at him intently, an expression of such care and tenderness on his face that Matt forgot how to breathe for a second, feeling as if his heart had just burst in his chest.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” Taliesin said softly. “How are you doing?”

It took Matt’s hazy mind a second to parse the question and another to figure out how to answer it. 

“S’good, I’m good,” he mumbled finally. 

Taliesin scanned his face for any sign of discomfort and when he found nothing but dazed bliss, he smiled and placed a kiss on his forehead.

“You’re doing so well,” he said, running a hand through Matt’s hair. Matt instinctively leaned into the touch as the praise settled like a warm glow in the center of his chest. 

“I’m going to bind your legs now so I need to lay you down on your chest, okay?”

Matt made a soft noise of affirmation and Taliesin put his hands on his shoulders and started tipping him forwards. There was a moment of weightlessness as he began to fall but Taliesin was prepared and held him securely, lowering him down slowly. With the side of his face pressed into the mattress, the new position was not exactly comfortable but then one of Taliesin’s hands was back, alternating between running through Matt’s hair and scratching gently at his scalp. His eyes slid closed again as a low hum of pleasure escaped him, his mind starting to slip back into a blissful void of thought. 

Meanwhile Taliesin’s other hand began to trace along Matt’s leg, conjuring ropes of purple that wound around it, pulling his calf to his thigh and binding them together. He repeated the process on the other leg and examined his handiwork. After slightly adjusting some bindings, he made a thicker rope that positioned itself in the air above Matt, thin strings extending out of it, that connected themselves seamlessly to the bindings wrapped around Matt’s body. Following his silent command, the rope started rising up, pulling Matt back into an upright position, before slowly lifting him into the air until he was hanging about a foot over the bed. Matt seemed too out of it to even notice, remaining completely relaxed in his bonds, unmoving and eyes closed.

“What a marvelous creature you are,” Taliesin whispered reverently under his breath as he watched Matt’s still form. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind Matt’s ear and took a few steps back, surveying his finished work.

⁂

Matt had no measure of how much time had passed. Seconds, hours, days… Did it matter? He was floating weightlessly through an endless, comforting darkness. Time had no meaning to him. At some point, though, as his awareness slowly started to come back to him, he noticed that Taliesin’s touch was gone.

“Tal?” he mumbled, his own voice sounding foreign to him as he forced his leaden lips and tongue to form the letters.

“I’m right here, darling,” he heard from his right, accompanied by a light touch tracing over his shoulder.

“Don’t leave.” There was something more to the thought but he couldn’t find the words to express it, hoping that Taliesin would understand.

There was a short silence and the caress that had been gently dancing over his shoulder stopped, before it moved along his shoulder to his neck, cupping his face and stroking over his cheek.

“I won’t.” 

Matt sighed contentedly as he leaned into Taliesin’s touch.

“Still good?”

Matt hummed his affirmation.

“Do you want down?”

“...down?” The words didn’t make sense. Where would he want to go down to?

“Open your eyes.”

He did so slowly, the low light in the bedroom blindingly bright to his eyes. He only saw Taliesin at first, standing in front of him. Then he looked down, seeing the mattress about a foot below him but he was not touching it.

“...oh,” he breathed softly after a few seconds of silence.

Now that he was aware of it, it was obvious that he was suspended in the air. Delightfully weightless... helpless...

Taliesin could pull him this way and that, he could give him what he wanted or deny him and there was not a single thing Matt could do about it as he dangled helplessly in midair. The thought was exhilarating. 

“Is this okay?”, Taliesin asked after a few seconds of silence, a hint of worry in his voice now at the lack of a clear answer. 

“Yeah, yes... “ Matt replied a bit breathless. “More than okay.”

Taliesin chuckled warmly. Matt looked back up at him, his mind clearing up more now. 

“Is it finished then?”

“Yes. Do you want to see?”

“Yes, please.”

Taliesin moved Matt slowly over to the large mirror in the corner of the room. Matt stopped breathing for a second as he caught sight of his reflection. Ropes of purple darkness ran all across his body in beautifully intricate patterns, forming a stark contrast against the pale canvas of his skin. Fine designs, that would have been impossible to form with normal rope, covered large amounts of his skin while simultaneously accentuating the parts that weren’t covered. He had never particularly liked his body but framing it like this had transformed it into nothing short of a work of art. Still suspended in midair, Taliesin began to slowly spin him in place, giving Matt time to appreciate the little details that Taliesin had woven into the pattern. 

“Look at you,” Taliesin said reverently, stepping closely behind him and admiring Matt’s reflection from over his shoulder. “Absolutely stunning.”

“This is… I don’t have words,” Matt said breathlessly after a few seconds of silence. 

“Good, though?” Taliesin asked with a smile, already knowing the answer.

“Incredible.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Taliesin said with a pleased hum, resting his chin on Matt’s shoulder and pulling him closer to his chest, never taking his eyes off of Matt’s reflection in the mirror. Pressed together front to back like that, Matt noticed the unmistakable feeling of Taliesin’s bulge against him. He pressed back into at as much as his limited movement allowed, Taliesin’s quiet moan a gratifying reward for his effort.

“Mh, I just noticed that I forgot something there,” Taliesin said after a moment, a predatory gleam sneaking into his eyes. “Let me just fix that quickly.” 

As Taliesin continued to hold him close, another length of thin rope, more like a ribbon this time, appeared in front of Matt. He followed it with his eyes as it floated downward, caressing his skin on the way down. Matt moaned as it began to loop itself around his cock, first stroking teasingly as it wrapped itself around him, before almost reluctantly settling into place in a complicated pattern along his length and tying itself into a neat bow just below the head of his cock. Matt opened his mouth to say something but before he could manage a sound, the ribbon began to pulse gently, making him moan again, his eyes sliding closed. 

“Gorgeous,” Taliesin said with a satisfied sigh.

Taliesin turned Matt around to face him and moved backwards until he felt the side of the bed pressing into the back of his knees, all the while pulling Matt with him. He sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully settling Matt’s bound form into his lap. 

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” Matt said, looking at Taliesin with half-lidded eyes.

“And I’m gonna keep it like that for a bit longer,” Taliesin said grinning, pulling Matt closer for a kiss, one hand buried in his hair the other resting on his lower back. It was rough and hungry, Taliesin pulling at Matt’s hair, making him moan into the kiss. Another sharp tug made Matt tilt his head back, baring his throat to Taliesin, who broke the kiss with a quick nip to his lower lip. Taliesin kissed and licked and _bit_ his way down his throat, feeling the rapid beating of his pulse under his lips while Matt surrendered completely to the onslaught, going boneless in Taliesin’s hands. With one last, rough nip at his collarbone that made Matt shudder and gasp, Taliesin pulled away, surveying the trail of pink marks with a quiet sense of satisfaction.

He loosened his grip on Matt’s hair, allowing him to straighten back up into a more comfortable position. That slightly dazed expression was back on Matt’s face as he leaned into Taliesin, nestling up against him as much as his restricted movement allowed.

Taliesin chuckled fondly and leaned in for another kiss, slow and sweet this time. Matt sighed contentedly when they parted, nuzzling into his shirt and fidgeting in his lap. The way he rubbed over Taliesin’s clothed erection could have almost been written off as accidental if it hadn't been for the entirely too innocent smile on his face.

Taliesin shot him a warning gaze with a raised eyebrow but Matt ignored it, his smile widening to a grin as he continued grinding down against him. Taliesin leaned down suddenly to sink his teeth into the skin where Matt's shoulder met his neck. Matt instantly froze, his breathing going shallow as Taliesin held him trapped for long seconds, the firm pressure of his teeth digging into the delicate skin there. His eyes had widened visibly, invoking associations to a spooked hare that had just spotted a wolf stalking past its hiding place. 

When Taliesin released him, Matt let out a shuddering breath and sank against Taliesin’s chest.

"Be good now," Taliesin whispered softly into Matt's ear as he wrapped his arms around him. He felt Matt nodding silently as he leaned his head on Taliesin’s shoulder.

He held him close for a few moments, placing a kiss on top of his head before he opened his arms again and pulled back a little. Matt's erection hadn't flagged in the slightest, even filled out more with the pulsing ribbon providing a constant, gentle stimulation.

Taliesin carefully lifted Matt up again, only a few inches this time, just enough to spin him around so that he was positioned with his back to Taliesin, before he settled him back into his lap. 

Matt looked up and saw his own reflection in the mirror again. Through the haze of lust he dimly registered his kiss red lips, the trail of pink marks running along his throat, the imprints of teeth on his shoulder and the disheveled mess of brown hair on top of his head but his mind was more focused on the web of dark ropes still running across his skin, especially the one that was continuing to pulse softly where it was wrapped around his cock. He could just make out a drop of precome that had gathered on the tip before he felt it slowly trail down his shaft, running across the stripes of purple blackness. 

“Lovely,” he heard Taliesin say behind him, as he pulled him closer to his chest and leaned his chin on his shoulder, looking in the mirror as well. 

Taliesin began stroking over his chest, his stomach, pointedly avoiding his cock, then returned upward to tease and rub over his nipples. Matt squirmed in his arms, his trapped hands crumpling Taliesin’s shirt where he had managed to get a grip on it. 

When Taliesin finally wrapped his hand around Matt’s cock, he groaned with relief. He started stroking slowly, Matt arching up into every stroke as much as he could. He turned his head to kiss and lick at Taliesin’s neck and Taliesin let himself enjoy it for a few moments before his free hand came up to tangle in Matt’s hair, pulling him away.

“Watch,” he said simply, as he sensed Matt’s confusion, facing him back in the direction of the mirror. He moved his arm to Matt’s front, laying his forearm across his chest, his hand coming to rest on his sternum, all the while never stopping his torturously slow movements on Matt’s cock. He started to press against Matt’s chest to bend him backwards in a beautiful arc that put his body on display in front of the mirror. Then Taliesin twisted his hand in a sudden movement around Matt’s cock, making him buck into his hand in an uncoordinated movement, while he watched his reflection do the same. He realized with surprise that he didn’t actually mind looking at himself as much anymore. There was an odd sort of debauched beauty to his appearance now that he hadn’t thought himself capable of. 

“Please, Tal,” he breathed out almost soundlessly, as Taliesin increased the speed of his hand a fraction, edging him closer. 

“What do you want?” Taliesin asked, mostly succeeding in making his own voice sound even and calm, even though the way Matt was writhing in his lap did not exactly leave him unaffected. He stopped the movements of his hand while he waited for Matt's answer. 

“Want you,” Matt gasped, as he tried to thrust up into Taliesin’s hand. "Need you, please, I need **–**"

He broke off into a strangled moan as he suddenly felt something teasing at his entrance. He was so used to the feeling of Taliesin’s powers sliding against his skin or holding him down but he'd never felt it _there_. It was a strange sensation at first but not unpleasant. The dark appendage dipped into him slowly and Matt was alarmed at the lack of lube for a second until he remembered that it wasn't exactly corporeal and would not produce friction. It entered him carefully, getting wider as it went, stretching him slowly. He groaned and tried to push back against it, fucking himself on it, but Taliesin tightened his grip around his middle, holding him fast against his chest and making any movement impossible. At the same time, the ribbon that was still wrapped around his cock came to life again, extending downwards to wrap around his balls tightly, just shy of painful. Matt knew at once that he was not going to be able come like that and whimpered at the realisation.

“Shhh, not yet,” Taliesin hushed him gently. “You’ll get to come when you’re squirming on my cock."

Matt whined almost pitifully as Taliesin held him trapped against his chest. He felt the dark appendage slip deeper inside him, stretching him and he could swear that it must be deep enough to reach his stomach by now. Looking down at himself, he almost expected to see the outline of it, a bump on the flat plane of his stomach, but nothing but the web shadows covering his skin were there. Instead he saw his cock jutting out, the wetness of his precome glistening in the low lamplight. 

The stretch was getting to the brink of too much, Matt’s breathing becoming irregular even as he tried to calm himself. Then suddenly all movement stopped. He could feel Taliesin’s heartbeat against his back and was relieved that this seemed to be affecting him as much as it was affecting Matt.

“You’ve been so good for me. So patient,” Taliesin whispered in his ear. “Do you want your reward now?”

“Please,” Matt whispered back, his voice sounding breathless and raspy to his own ears.

Matt felt the ropes pulling him upwards again, making him hover an inch over Taliesin’s lap before he was moved forwards a bit. He raised his head, seeing himself in the mirror again, clearer now that he was closer to it. He hardly recognized himself as he looked as his reflection. He looked absolutely wrecked. A thin sheen of sweat was covering his chest and face, some of the strands of brown hair sticking to it, the rest in complete disarray. His eyes had an almost wild quality to them, caught somewhere between delirious and desperate. He dimly wondered how he must look from behind, stuffed full with the ever shifting shape of a dark shadow that held him open for Taliesin. 

He saw Taliesin’s reflection in the mirror, his pupils blown wide as he looked at Matt, the black almost swallowing up the bright purple of his irises. Then he disappeared out of Matt’s line of sight and he only heard the quiet rustling of clothes as Taliesin undressed.

When Taliesin entered his line of sight again, he was completely naked. Matt only got a short glimpse of him before he stepped behind Matt and pulled him to his chest. Matt sighed and let his head drop down as he was finally able to feel Taliesin’s skin against his’. He could feel Taliesin’s eyes on him, watching him silently, probably seeing every minute twitch of his muscles and the way he was breathing rapidly through parted lips. 

Suddenly the ribbon wrapped around his cock began to unravel, stroking teasingly around him a few times before it floated higher and vanished into thin air. Matt shuddered out a breath, pulling at his bindings instinctively. 

“Please, Taliesin.”

At his words, the appendage holding him open disappeared and he immediately felt empty at the loss. It didn’t last long though, as Taliesin sent him swinging forwards a little, grabbing his bound arms on the backwards swing and pulling him onto his cock with a single, fluid thrust. Matt moaned when they were fully joined, hearing Taliesin’s echoing groan from behind him. Taliesin held him in this position for a few moments before he pushed him forwards, sliding halfway out of him before he used his grip on his arms to pull him back onto his cock. Matt struggled against his bonds to try and push himself into Taliesin’s hold to get closer to him. He eventually went lax again when he realized that it was of no use, his head sinking back down to his chest as he let Taliesin maneuver him as he wished, a breathy moan slipping out of him every time Taliesin pushed into him.

Taliesin moved his hands to Matt’s hips, which allowed him to get a better hold on him and thrust harder. Matt was close already and the shift in position was _so good_, making Taliesin’s cock slide against Matt’s prostate on every thrust. He whined low in his throat, his legs jerking involuntarily while he felt himself clench around Taliesin’s cock, hearing his answering moan.

One of Taliesin’s hands came around to rest on Matt’s stomach, pulling him flush to his chest and sinking himself deep into Matt in the process. He managed a breathless ‘_Tal, I’m–_’ as his whole body seized up and he shuddered through his orgasm, before going completely limp in his bonds. He dimly registered Taliesin thrusting in once or twice more before he stilled as well while hugging Matt tightly to his chest and leaning his chin on his shoulder. Matt could feel more than hear Taliesin coming; a last, small jerk of his hips and a shudder that went through his body as he clung to Matt. He nuzzled into the side of Matt’s face, his stubble rubbing over his cheek, before Taliesin moved back towards the bed, pulling out of Matt in the process and tugging him along carefully. 

He lowered Matt down to the mattress and started slowly unraveling the rope; strand by strand, loop by loop, starting at his arms, moving on to his legs, then the pattern over his chest and stomach. He laid him out on the bed, making sure to carefully stretch out and massage the stiff muscles. When Matt regained some semblance of awareness, Taliesin had already cleaned them up and was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking intently at him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he noticed Matt’s eyes on him. Matt had to mentally take stock of his body before he answered.

“Kinda sore...? But in a good way...?” he said slowly as Taliesin got into bed next to him. He let himself be pulled close, then managed to roll over and throw an arm over Taliesin’s middle, flopping down gracelessly halfway on top of him with a happy sigh. Taliesin smiled warmly as he pulled the covers up over them and wrapped his arms around him. 

“You did amazing, kitten,” Taliesin said after a few seconds of silence. “I’m really impressed with how well you took to that.”

“I liked it. A lot. And you made it easy,” Matt mumbled against his chest before lifting his head a little to look up at Taliesin with a smile. Taliesin leaned down to place a kiss on Matt’s lips. 

Matt had burrowed closer to Taliesin and closed his eyes when Taliesin started shifting and arranging Matt differently on the mattress. Matt made a soft noise of protest but then Taliesin’s arm came around his middle to pull him close, spooning him from behind. Matt relaxed in his embrace again and entwined his fingers with Taliesin’s, pulling his hand close to brush a kiss to his knuckles.

“I love you,” he murmured softly before pressing their joined hands to his chest.

“I know you do,” Taliesin whispered in return, a hint of a smile audible in his voice.

Matt smiled softly, feeling Taliesin’s presence enveloping him and closed his eyes, fast asleep within minutes.


End file.
